Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service) Reviews

For virtual desktops, like Windows 10 or Windows 7, we primarily use the solution to offer some customized applications to the users. 

Some of the basic applications, like Windows applications, are being used across all VDIs. 

The usage depends on the specific customer. They decide what applications they want to have in their VDI. We have certain items as far as their requirements, and we just manage the infrastructure in the background.

Citrix tends to have the most capabilities surrounding desktops.

The application virtualization is very, very good.

The customer is always looking for a unified solution. They need a single place where everything can be managed from while using a web application. With Citrix's system, there's an administrative tool and a helpdesk tool. Those two tools are very different, and the Citrix administrative tool is not meant for web-based use. It's in a heavy application. If they could build it into their web-based applications, that would be ideal. That way, administrators can log in from anywhere on any browser and they can just manage the environment in the background. 

Citrix does not have an in depth assessment tool. Some customers ask for components in Citrix that can give information around the hypervisor's resources or in-depth metrics of the hypervisor's site. There is a free tool from Citrix, however, it does not give you the deeper information of the other components like hypervisor or the OS or the storage, or downloads in the network. Those are the limitations of that particular tool right now. We might need to use a third party tool to gain that information. 

If Citrix can develop something which can have more reach towards the backend infrastructure, other components of the Citrix environment, that would be ideal. 

We've most likely been using the solution for over eight years at this point.

Citrix is one of the companies that is delivering virtual apps and desktops in a big way. They are mature enough to understand the level of stability required and deliver it. 

Now, they are moving towards the cloud and offering everything as a service. The redundancy part is already taken care of by the company. 

We have many components and have controlled redundancies. From the end-user side, a user won't see any disruption in the services. That's due to the fact that the infrastructure in the background is highly available. Elasticity is also introduced. We're always building provisioning desktops on-demand and shutting the machines that are not in demand. 

We have certain policies defined in the infrastructure in the background, which can enable our administrators to utilize the resources as they need them. Therefore, it's quite stable.

We use this solution ourselves in our own organization and have a 60,000-70,000 userbase currently. We have more than 40 customers within the virtual workspace. Most are medium-sized entities. A few have 20,000-40,000 users. We'll be adding another client in healthcare that has about 20,000 desktops.

Scalability is not an issue. You can scale up to any number. There's only the requirement of adding the infrastructure and building that horizontally. You'll need to set up the different components horizontally. For example, if we have a 10,000 user base, then we can probably have 10 master servers. If the user base is around 40,000, then we can double the master servers so that they can take up the load.

We often contact technical support.

They are very engaged, whenever we have an issue. They are very helpful. Most of the time, whenever we run into an issue where we need to reach out to Citrix they are available to us.

We do not support only Citrix. We also support the backend infrastructure and hosting infrastructure that are also Citrix products. If it's tied to another product, such as Microsoft, they'll work together to resolve whatever the issue is. 

We haven't found any difficulty in working with them. It's rare that we'd need to reach out to other vendors as well as Citrix (usually once in a quarter), however, if it happens, we know Citrix will do what they can to work with all parties.

We do not exclusively work with Citrix. It's much more high-end than other services, however, we do also offer, for example, VMware and Horizon.

The initial setup is very simple currently. Earlier we used to install many components separately. Now, we have a basic software installation setup. We can build the environment in a few hours. It does not take much time now. Earlier, we used to have to secure the servers, for example. It is all virtualized. One administrator can build the environment from scratch and in a very short period of time. It's not complex now. Earlier it was, but not anymore.

The deployment time depends on the sizing of the environment. If the customer is looking for only 500 desktops, it takes one day to build everything. If there is planning involved, and there are some different components or key bits and pieces that the administrator needs to collect, it might take a bit longer.

If it is in a scalable environment that's sized, for example, at 1,000, 10,000, or 20,000, it will definitely take time. This is due to the fact that we need to choose the appropriate technology for the background. We need to figure out if the customer's willing to have a provision desktop, basically. That all depends on what the customer size is and what the customer requirements are.

We also offer managed services, so we can help our clients manage everything once the solution is fully deployed.

Our team can help implement the solution for our clients. That said, I don't handle the process directly myself.

Citrix is competitive, however, at the same time, they give great service. VMware, Horizon, or other VDI solutions may be cheaper. That said, they do not have the same capability that Citrix has. 

We offer other VDI solutions like Microsoft WVDs and the VMware's Horizon, that are on the cheaper side. It's up to the customer, what they want to do. If they want to have premium services, we will host their VDIs on Citrix system components only. That will give them better features and better capabilities or maybe less frustration on the user experience side.

We offer cloud and managed services offerings as well as environments hosted on our data center. We have a variety of options and therefore can offer a variety of prices according to what they need/want.

We're currently using the latest version of the solution.

While we mostly work with on-premises deployments, we also occasionally handle cloud deployments as well. 

We have our internal Cloud offering. Form there, we have a managed data center and within our company's premises, the customers are just subscribing to services based on their need for virtual desktops.

I would recommend the product. It's an industry leader in the VDI environment. Nobody can match their capabilities right now.

I'd rate the solution nine out of ten overall. If they had better capability testing, I might rate it higher.

The primary use case is for organizations with a large number of users, such as warehouses or production facilities. In these environments, users access a few applications from multiple computers. Citrix Workspace simplifies the deployment of these applications by installing them on the session host and distributing them to the users. 

From my perspective, the most valuable feature is the manageability. Citrix Workspace offers a wide range of options and makes the deployment procedure much easier.

Some customers find the price to be a significant factor. They have a hard time understanding the extra cost of the services. However, in the long term, I have seen a more stable business due to using Citrix Workspace.

I have been working with Citrix Workspace for many years.

It has been very stable. I would rate it a nine out of ten. 

It is a scalable solution. It is easy to scale. Around four customers are using this solution. 

The deployment varies depending on the client and their specific requirements. For example, some of our clients in the healthcare industry have specific applications and data that require special handling.

The deployment model depends on how you define a cloud-based solution. We host the session host and deployment in our data center, and customers connect directly to our data centers from their offices. So, we provide the infrastructure, but it may differ for different users based on whether they use the workspace plugin or have their own clients.

It's a monthly subscription. Some customers find the price to be expensive. Because first, they have to pay for Microsoft Remote Desktop user accounts, and then on top of that, they need Citrix accounts. It's not exactly double the cost, but it's a significant increase. Some customers are sensitive to costs, but some have started to understand why they need to pay for all the services.

If you only have a few users, it's hard to justify the costs. So using this solution will depend on individual use cases. 

I like this solution. Overall, I would rate it a ten out of ten. 

I use the solution to give my workers access to several application in the form of Citrix internal applications for the company.

We had an old software that our servers did not support. So we moved to Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops for cyber engineering in India and Mexico.

The support offered by Citrix's partner needs to improve. The partner support platform should aim to provide more technical information to users.

The solution is very expensive, including the license, and the support, of all the platforms.

For example, the solution of Microsoft, if you are partnered with Microsoft, you have access to the license, and you only need the variable servers from the virtualization with Microsoft.

I have been using the solution for six years.

It is a stable solution. We don't usually have problems with the platform, but escalating the issue is difficult.

It is a very scalable solution. In the last semester, we updated the video graphics on the virtualization and video 3D graphics for the simulation on the hardware, and it was implemented in three days. It took six to seven months to get the GUI and firewall, but that was because of the problem in the country rather than Citrix. Four thousand users are using the solution presently.

The technical support with Citrix is a nine but support with a partner is a four. So the problem with support is not with Citrix. It is more with the partner who was supposed to provide the solution.

Positive

Talking of my own experience, I have tried VMware and Microsoft Hyper- V solutions. But here in the company, Citrix is the only solution.

We recommended a partnership the first time we bought it from Citrix and Citrix. The partnership was closed several years ago, and the new partner could be better. It's not good. Now, Citrix has been bought by another company.

It's costly in the market. But it is not expensive for the company. For the company, it's relatively inexpensive because the core of the work is compensated with the price. Secondly, the price is included in the cost of the business.

Presently, we are in the process of evaluating other competitive solutions and collecting their names. I must propose an error to show why we must change or stay with Citrix.

People planning to use Citrix must take the right decision for their firm rather than evaluate the cost from the start. 

It is a robust solution. I rate it a nine out of ten.

Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops is used to control our virtual machines and provide access to our devices from anywhere.

Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops is capable of deploying and managing all servers or virtual desktop infrastructures.

The cost of Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops is high and has room for improvement.

The technical support is slow and has room for improvement.

I am currently using Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops.

Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops is a stable solution.

Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops is a scalable solution.

The quality of technical support is very poor. Insufficient staffing has resulted in delays in responding to tickets.

The initial setup is straightforward. The deployment process is simple. We just need to deploy the VDI server and its VDA.

The implementation is completed in-house.

Citrix licensing is expensive.

If we deploy in Azure, Microsoft has an advantage over Citrix because it provides effective solutions for deployment and management.

I give Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops a ten out of ten.

Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops is recommended for midsize and enterprise companies because it is not affordable for smaller organizations.

I recommend conducting an analysis of the organization's requirements and compiling a list of viable solutions before proceeding to a proof of concept.

We use the solution for remote desktop access. 

The solution is deployed on the Citrix cloud.

The App is the most valuable feature.

Citrix should consolidate the multiple tools currently required into a single platform. At present, to access all the features, I need to log in to four separate locations and use four distinct tools.

I have been using the solution for four years.

The solution is stable.

The solution is affordable.

I give the solution an eight out of ten.

I use the tool to connect to the other apps of the company.

The tool helps me to connect with some apps of our company and resolve the tickets.

I have to re-enter my user password when I am not using the tool for some time around ten minutes. I want to also improve the need to download other Citrix apps.

I have used the solution for two weeks.

I would rate the solution’s stability a seven out of ten. The tool’s download time is slow.

I would rate the tool’s scalability a nine out of ten.

The solution’s setup is simple.

I would rate the overall solution an eight out of ten.

Citrix is used by many organizations to make it possible to streamline the way different developers work together from different locations. It is able to do this using a low bandwidth. Essentially it is used for remote application delivery. 

Citrix's functionality depends on you having access to Microsoft Azure. Microsoft offers a broad range of features and solutions. Overall, it may make sense for some users to move all their services to Microsoft services. The main challenge is that you need to have a Microsoft Azure subscription. 

This solution could be improved by adding features for authentication. 

I have been using this solution for 10 years. 

This is a stable solution, however, this stability can be impacted by networking changes. Citrix has developed its own in-house monitoring tool that assists in this regard. Security wise, they have lots of features that you can use for two factor authentication along with your password or biometrics.

This is a scalable solution. Citrix is able to increase its capacity and functionalities based on demand for both on-prem or cloud-based scenarios. 

The customer support team is responsive when we contact them. Citrix runs on top of Windows so it is important to first figure out whether the challenge you have is Windows or Citrix related. There is an option to pay for support from Citrix and this is based on whether you are a gold or premium customer. They have a dedicated technical team and technical relationship manager who will engage with your environment and provide suggestion. They also offer professional services for deployment and configurations.

Positive

The initial setup was straightforward but this may differ based on specific scenarios. This solution needs to be integrated with directory infrastructure and in accordance with basic requirements. The setup is simpler for smaller environment and more complex for larger environments that need integration with other cloud infrastructure. 

You have to install a cloud connector for on-prem environments that use separate Windows servers. In future, Citrix are planning to bypass that cloud connection. 

They offer licensing per user.  From time to time, they give discounts. Because it's a hybrid model, you can deploy some portion of it on cloud and some portion your on-prem. 

This is an expensive solution but the cost can be brought down by discount bargaining based on the volume of licenses you are purchasing. 

I would advise others to evaluate whether to use the Citrix VDI based on all the different applications you have in your environment. You should specifically consider those applications which are cloud based and those which are on-premise as well as where your data is kept. This will determine the complexity of adding Citrix. 

You need consider what infrastructure is required for an in-house solution and how will your team manage and monitor updates. 

I would rate this solution an eight out of ten. 

The primary use case is to allow our employees to work from home.

We are using the solution with some of our light users. There is less maintenance cost for the hardware.

The remote desktop feature is valuable because it allows employees to work from home.

USB devices are a common issue. I am not sure if this is a Citrix issue or an operating system issue because we are using Linux.

I have been using the solution for one year.

At this point, the solution has shown to be stable.

The solution is scalable.

I had to use customer service once or twice and they solve my issues immediately.

The initial setup is complex.

The implementation was done in-house. 

We recouped 60 to 70 percent of the hardware costs.

I rate the solution seven out of ten.

Although the initial setup is complex, deployment is easy. We already have the images used for deployments of the virtual machines through Citrix Studio. The thin client already has an operating system that connects directly to the Citrix server. All we have to do is assign the virtual machines and deploy them.

We currently have 97 users for the solution and are looking to increase that to 300. Two engineers are required to manage the solution.

I recommend you test everything first before implementing this solution. We are facing issues with Microsoft Teams, and the presentations which have no option to share with Bijo and Ojo. You should also test the hardware, especially the USB devices.

We have two primary use cases of this solution. One, the final users use their main interface to log in to the system. The Citrix team publish all the applications they are accessing with their laptops. We have an end terminal that is a small PC with just access to Citrix, so they don't have a real PC.

The other use case is my personal use case. I use Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops to access the network to jump into the infra. I am using it to access the network and to go through the infrastructure level for monitoring. I do not use the business application as I am from IT, we just support the IT infrastructure.

Centralization and security are the most valuable features of Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops. You have a controlled environment that doesn't allow your employees to install software on the machines and connect to the network. It is more secure than personal laptops everywhere.

Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops is easy to manage. Our organization has a hybrid environment. We have a large percentage of our users that have their own laptops, which requires a lot of effort to manually maintain support, update and patch. With Citrix, we have three or four people that work on the infrastructure to support over 2,000 users.

The solution works as it is designed to work. However, when you are at the office you do need to log in and load your profile, which takes time. But that is the way it is designed.

I have been using Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops for four years.

Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops is very stable. It is our responsibility to have it up and running with good performance. The environment is very stable. Any impact on Citrix is immediately reported to the users. We are always one step ahead in checking performance and getting alerts.

Any issues we have are small and resolved quickly by our team. 

Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops is a complex solution. It requires many licenses in a big environment. Anyone considering the solution needs to assess and analyze the cost benefit. As a VDI solution, I do believe it is the best one out there.

I would rate Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktop an eight out of 10.

I'm an infrastructure architect.

We frequently use the Workspace Environment Manager service, which is a valuable feature. We're also happy with the interaction between our collaborative tools. 

I think the ITSM adapters need to be enhanced. Currently, even though it says the solution is a PaaS, there are a couple of activities happening between the cloud and on-prem environments that could use some additional detail. Even though we see our collaborative tools working well with Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops, on a practical level we face challenges due to various factors. Our users are in different regions; their endpoint device is in one location, but the collaborative controls are in a different data center. Given our VDA infrastructure, accessing collaborative tools is becoming a little challenging. It might be fine on paper, but when it comes to actually working with it, improvements could be made. From our end, we need to make sure our collaborator tools are working as expected.

I've been using this solution for four years. 

The solution is stable. 

When you compare the cloud version to the on-premise Citrix environment, the cloud version wins out. You don't need to worry about scalability. Once you have a license, you just start adding the load you want. We have around 8,000 users. 

We contact technical support when we are in urgent need. They have a process where they ask some basic questions and that seems unnecessary as it wastes time when you're looking for a rapid response. We get an engineer on the line and he asks the basic questions and then a new person is brought in and starts all over again with the same basic questions. 

If you know your prerequisites, the initial setup is simple. Without the proper advanced knowledge, you may end up in a situation where you will not be able to achieve what you need or want. 

We evaluated Horizon View as a possible option. Whenever anyone thinks of a virtual desktop environment, they think of Citrix. Horizon View comes into the picture when you don't need any extra features, just a reliable and secure infrastructure. Citrix fitted our needs more closely. 

There is still some room for improvement so I rate this solution eight out of 10.